WhatsApp to finally get the free video calling update we've been waiting for

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Britta O'Boyle
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A new feature has appeared in the WhatsApp beta version for iOS that will enhance your video calls.

You will be able to add backgrounds, filters, smooth your skin and brighten yourself up on WhatsApp video calls when the feature arrives.

There are a huge number of features built into WhatsApp. From being able to exclude your profile picture from specific contacts, to locking your chats behind Face ID or a fingerprint, dive into the settings of the app on your phone and you'll find all sorts of great tricks.

One of the excellent things about WhatsApp however, is that it never stands still for too long. New features are always being added and if you're on the WhatsApp beta version for Android or iOS, you will be only too familiar with them, often getting to try new features before anyone else.

One of the more recent features being tested in the beta version currently is AR call effects and filters, as spotted by WABetaInfo and picked up by 91Mobiles. The feature was first tested on the Android version of the WhatsApp beta but it has now arrived on the iOS beta version.

You'll need to be running the WhatsApp beta version 24.17.10.74 on iOS if you want to experience the AR call effects and filters, but the good news is that if you aren't, this feature should arrive on the main build of WhatsApp at some point soon. It allows you to add filters and backgrounds to WhatsApp video calls and you can add different coloured filters and backgrounds too. 

Calls AR filter and effects feature on WhatsApp beta

(Image credit: WABetaInfo)

It is also possible to blur a background with the feature, or choose a pre-set option and you'll see the various options appear anytime you launch into a video call on WhatsApp. You don't have to use the features of course and instead go au naturel on video calls as you will be doing now, but if you want to smooth out your skin or brighten yourself up when in a low light environment, this new WhatsApp feature will be there for you. 

WABetaInfo also adds that whatever settings you choose for your WhatsApp video call settings, WhatsApp will remember for next time. It's not currently known when the AR call effects and alters feature will come to the main version of WhatsApp but the fact that it is in iOS and Android beta versions is a good sign.

Britta O'Boyle
Britta O'Boyle

Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.

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